Duck Lake

Grand Traverse County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey

98ft Max
depth

2,165 acres 18 contours Public access

Paddling Index48Modestwooded shoreline · carry-in access

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Depth scale

05103850628098

The lake

Survey readout

Duck Lake is mapped to a depth of 98 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 2,165 acres in Grand Traverse County, Michigan.

Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey.

Deepest sounding: 98 ft
Mean depth: 21.5 ft · estimated
Surface area: 2,165 acres
Estimated volume: 46,475 acre-ft · 15,144M gal
Shoreline: 12.23 mi · irregular
Aquatic vegetation: 0% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: Boat Launch · Rec Passport

Additional depth details18 contours

Contour depths: 0–98 ft
Recorded point soundings: 98 ft, 73 ft, 70 ft, 62 ft, 57 ft, 49 ft

Other waters with a public launch on this map: Ellis Lake, Green Lake. Their launches are not marked on the model — only Duck Lake’s own are.

48.5% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 40.1% is deeper than 20 ft; the survey shows 4 distinct basins. Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.

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Location

Grand Traverse County, Michigan · 15 nearest of 37 lakes and 1 bay · tap a dot for that lake

Chart data

Provenance

Sources: MI DNR inland lake contours, USGS 3DEP, USDA NAIP (public domain), OpenStreetMap (ODbL), MI DNR Boat Launches.

⚠ Not for navigation

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Map details & sources5 sources

All layers registered to one bounding box; positions in WGS 84.

Survey-derived depth contours drape over USGS 3DEP elevation, with a USDA NAIP aerial basemap and OpenStreetMap shoreline. Colour shows surveyed depth; dark lines are the survey's own isobaths.

Coordinates: 44.62466, -85.74203
MI DNR lake ID: L18856
Vertical exaggeration: 3.67× below the waterline; land at true scale
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 2.5 MB

Paddling

Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-08-21

48 / 100ModestData confidence: High

Duck Lake has a mostly natural, lightly developed setting, notable open-water exposure, substantial nearby higher-volume roads. No special watercraft restriction is identified in the current source.

Why this score?5 components

Included in the index

Component	Rating	Points of weight	Measurement
Natural setting	Very Good	20.2 of 30	70% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (22% forest, 47% wetland; 21% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Mixed	4.0 of 25	mean fetch 3,053 m · 0% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · long fetch in some directions
Watercraft controls	None identified	7.5 of 15	No special watercraft restriction identified in the current DNR source. Motors permitted, subject to general law.
Public access	Excellent	15.0 of 15	3 sites with DNR boating-facility records · carry-in launch · 4 ramp lanes · 26 trailer spaces
Road isolation	Modest	1.6 of 15	substantial nearby higher-volume roads · 54 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 15,690 vehicles/day

Additional paddling considerations

These describe the lake but are not part of the v1 Paddling Index and do not change the number above.

Wake sensitivity: Low — wide enough that wakes disperse over most of the lake
Aquatic vegetation: Low — approximately 0% mapped coverage · NAIP aerial imagery (NDVI)
Observed motorized activity: Unknown — No lake-level measurement of boat traffic is available. Legal permission to operate motors is not evidence of use.
Wildlife habitat potential: High — 22% forest and 47% wetland cover within 150 m of shore

Compare Michigan lakes by Paddling Index →

How this index is calculated. The Paddling Index is a relative composite derived from lake geometry and public environmental, access, roadway and watercraft-control data. It is not a user review, a safety rating, or a prediction of an individual outing. Differences of a few points should not be treated as meaningful — an 84 and an 82 are broadly comparable. Components and weights: natural setting 30%, geometric wind exposure 25%, watercraft controls 15%, public access 15%, road isolation 15%; observed motorboat activity is weighted 0% because no defensible lake-level measurement exists. Where a component has no data the remaining weights are renormalized and the confidence rating is lowered; below Medium confidence no number is shown. Sources: MI DNR Boating Access Sites (2026-08), MI DNR Watercraft Control Areas (2026-08), USGS/MRLC NLCD Land Cover (2021), MDOT Annual Average Daily Traffic (2025) and MI DNR bathymetric survey outline (0 ft isobath). Conditions change quickly — check current weather and local conditions before going out.

Fish you might catch

from angler catches, DNR surveys & active stocking

10 species with recent evidence in this lake — sized relative to each other. Illustrations are AI-generated representative adults in everyday colours, not photographs (provenance).

Longnose Gar

Northern Pike

Lake Trout

Splake

Smallmouth Bass

Cisco

Bluegill

Rock Bass

Pumpkinseed

Green Sunfish

Historically stocked, no recent evidence: Brown Trout (last planted 2009) — not shown above.

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 10 species found here — 10 open to harvest.

These are hook-and-line size, daily limit and season rules. Gear, spearing and bow fishing, spawning closures and rod limits are set by other Fisheries Orders and are not shown here.

BluegillOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: 25 (FO-215 · statewide inland) The 25 is in any combination of the sunfishes — Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, Black and White Crappie, Rock Bass, Green, Longear and Redear Sunfish, Warmouth and hybrids — not 25 of each (FO-215.23A).

CiscoOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: 5 in any combination (2026 DNR digest · Cisco/Whitefish (NOTE 7)) 5 in any combination of Cisco, Lake Whitefish and Round Whitefish on inland waters; 10 on the Great Lakes, connecting waters and Type F lakes.

Beta. This panel is newly published. Every value is parsed from the Michigan DNR fisheries orders and hand-checked against the printed digest, but the coverage and wording are still under review. If anything here disagrees with the Michigan DNR's Fisheries Orders or its printed digest, the DNR is right — the signed Fisheries Order is the legal text; the digest summarises it.

Designated Type B trout lake — season open for the entire year; tackle: all types of natural bait and artificial lures may be used.

Green SunfishOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: 25 (FO-215 · statewide inland) The 25 is in any combination of the sunfishes — Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, Black and White Crappie, Rock Bass, Green, Longear and Redear Sunfish, Warmouth and hybrids — not 25 of each (FO-215.23A).

Lake TroutOpen to harvestMinimum size: 15" · Daily limit: 5 (FO-254 · Type B) Five (5) trout, except that the daily possession limit shall not include more than three (3) trout 15 inches or greater.

Longnose GarOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no possession limit (2026 DNR digest · all other species)

Northern PikeOpen to harvestMinimum size: 24" · Daily limit: 2 (FO-215 · statewide inland)

PumpkinseedOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: 25 (FO-215 · statewide inland) The 25 is in any combination of the sunfishes — Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, Black and White Crappie, Rock Bass, Green, Longear and Redear Sunfish, Warmouth and hybrids — not 25 of each (FO-215.23A).

Rock BassOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: 25 (FO-215 · statewide inland) The 25 is in any combination of the sunfishes — Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, Black and White Crappie, Rock Bass, Green, Longear and Redear Sunfish, Warmouth and hybrids — not 25 of each (FO-215.23A).

Smallmouth BassOpen to harvestMinimum size: 14" · Daily limit: 5 (FO-215 · statewide inland) The 5 is in any combination of Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass, not 5 of each (FO-215.23A).

SplakeOpen to harvestMinimum size: 12" · Daily limit: 5 (FO-254 · Type B) Five (5) trout, except that the daily possession limit shall not include more than three (3) trout 15 inches or greater.

From FO-206.26 (eff. 2026-04-01) / FO-215.23A (eff. 2023-09-15) / FO-254.25 (eff. 2025-10-10), checked against the 2026 Michigan Fishing Regulations digest · verified 2026-08-24. Regulations can change — Michigan DNR rules are the controlling source; verify current regulations before fishing. Official regulations

Compiled from registered Master Angler catches, Michigan DNR fishery surveys and Michigan DNR stockings within the last 10 years. Silhouettes are stylized and scaled to typical adult sizes relative to one another. Presence is not a promise — fishing isn’t a sure thing.

Notable catches

Master Angler program · 1995–2025

Trophy-size fish anglers caught here and registered with the DNR — what people have actually caught, distinct from what a survey netted or the state stocked below.

141Catches recorded

10Species

Rock Bass96 recorded · to 13.2″

Bluegill29 recorded · to 10.8″

Pumpkinseed8 recorded · to 10″

Longnose Gar2 recorded · to 35.5″

Catch details by species10 species

Rock Bass96 recorded · to 13.2″ · latest 2025

Bluegill29 recorded · to 10.8″ · latest 2025

Pumpkinseed8 recorded · to 10″ · latest 2025

Longnose Gar2 recorded · to 35.5″ · latest 2023

Cisco1 recorded · to 16.2″ · latest 2009

Green Sunfish1 recorded · to 9.1″ · latest 2013

Lake Trout1 recorded · to 38.5″ · latest 2017

Northern Pike1 recorded · to 42.2″ · latest 1995

Smallmouth Bass1 recorded · to 21″ · latest 2002

Splake1 recorded · to 28″ · latest 1997

Biggest on record

Northern Pike42.2″ · 1995 · spearfishing · decoy

Lake Trout38.5″ · 2017 · trolling

Longnose Gar35.5″ · 2017 · spearfishing

Longnose Gar34″ · 2023 · bowfishing

Splake28″ · 1997 · trolling

Bait: live bait (26) · artificial lure (17) · crawler (15)
Method: spincasting (63) · still fishing (35) · drift fishing (15) · trolling (12)

Master Angler entries are fish that met the program’s minimum size and were registered by the angler — they show what this lake has produced, not what a day here will produce. A catch on record is history, not a species listing: “Fish you might catch” lists only species with current evidence. Source: Michigan DNR Master Angler data.

Fishery

DNR SFR 2012-128

65Fish sampled

8Species

Gamefish Northern Pike 1 · Smallmouth Bass 1

Panfish Rock Bass 58 · Bluegill 1

All survey species8 species

Gamefish

Northern Pike1 caught

Smallmouth Bass1 caught

Panfish

Rock Bass58 caught

Bluegill1 caught

Forage & nongame

Cisco1 caught

Longnose Gar1 caught

Pumpkinseed1 caught

Splake1 caught

Stocking: The first recorded fish stocking in Duck Lake wa s in 1905 when walleye fry were stocked (Table 1).

This survey reported catch counts without lengths. Source: Michigan DNR Status of the Fishery Resource report (counts summed across survey years).

DNR stocking

state stocking record · 1981–2026

Fish the Michigan DNR has planted in this lake — what was added, distinct from what a survey netted above.

Lake trout376,767 stocked · 1982–2026 · 46 plantings

Brown trout144,577 stocked · 1989–2009 · 21 plantings

Splake48,200 stocked · 1981–1989 · 5 plantings

Source: Michigan DNR Fish Stocking Database.

Non-native species records

6 records

Mussels & snails

Zebra Mussel

Plants & algae

Narrow-leaved Cattail
Reed Canarygrass
Water-cress
Yellow Iris

Other invertebrates

Freshwater Jellyfish

What does non-native mean?

USGS records identify non-native species that have been documented for this lake or its shoreline. Non-native does not necessarily mean invasive, and historical records do not confirm current presence.

Source: Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership Conservation Planner; underlying nonindigenous species records from the USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database.

At the lake

community-mapped amenities · straight-line distance

⛻ Campgroundon the lake · 4 mapped

🚿 Restrooms / vault toileton the lake · 13 mapped

🏖 Beach / swim areaon the lake

🎢 Playgroundon the lake · 5 mapped

From OpenStreetMap community mapping — shown only where something is mapped; an amenity missing here may still exist. Distances are straight-line. Verify before you rely on it. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Bait & tackle nearby

licensed retail bait dealers · straight-line distance

Buc's Aqua Farm & Wholesale Bait≈3 mi10035 US - 31, Interlochen · Google · Apple

Cherryland Grocery Inc≈4.4 mi19114 US-31, Interlochen · Google · Apple

Long Lake Grocery≈8.6 mi9352 N Long Lake Rd, Traverse City · Google · Apple

Dealers licensed by the Michigan DNR to sell live bait; listing is not an endorsement. Distances are straight-line, not driving — and call ahead: hours and stock change. Source: Michigan DNR retail bait dealer data.

Quick answers

Duck Lake — common questions

How deep is Duck Lake?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Duck Lake is 98 ft. That is the deepest depth the historical survey map records, which may differ from the deepest point of the lake itself.

How big is Duck Lake?

Duck Lake covers about 2,165 acres in Grand Traverse County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Duck Lake?

The estimated mean depth of Duck Lake is 21.5 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

What fish are in Duck Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include lake trout, northern pike, smallmouth bass, splake, bluegill, green sunfish. The page lists all 10 species and the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Duck Lake?

Yes. The Michigan DNR boat-launch data identifies 2 public access sites on Duck Lake, including Interlochen State Park - Duck Lake.